De Molen 1914 Porter

Formerly brewed at Brouwerij de Molen
Style: Porter
Bodegraven, Netherlands

Serve in English pint, Stem glass

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Bottle 214 / 708; Sampled July 2008
A soft pour produces a fat-one-finger thick, brown tinged, tan colored head in my New Belgium globe glass. The beer is a dark brown, concentrated amber color that shows a brilliantly clear, ruby hue and lots of carbonation when held up to the light. The aroma is very toasty smelling and is quite noticeable as I am pouring and visually inspecting this beer. Toasty, brown malt notes are joined by coffee-like aromas in the finish. Roasted just enough to contribute a soft sharpness and light acidity to the nose. The roast, the acidity, the malt and the fermentation character combine to provide fruity notes of burnt prunes. Really though the huge, toasty malt aromas are the biggest part of the nose; they contribute aromas similar to deeply toasted whole grain bread, fresh from the oven hardy bread crusts and a light chocolate note.

Very light bodied, especially considering the advertised original gravity of 1.015, but it does have some heft to it and a slight viscousness as it flows across the tongue. Well carbonated, but this doesn’t keep this from feeling creamy, especially towards the finish. Up front this has a roast fruitiness to it that is offset in the finish by flavors of city-roast coffee, lightly tannic roast malt and ample toasted grain notes. The finish has a bitter, burnt malt note to it as well as a sharp, charcoal-like acidity (that is not overwhelming) as well as a round hop bitterness. The combination in the finish is actually pretty nice and doesn’t over-power the rest of the beer. Despite being so light (without a malty richness), this has a fair amount of sweetness to it that really accents a solid fruitiness that is more like sweet plums than anything; though it does have touches of raisins and a bit of fig-like notes (all of which have been roasted).

A second pour of this reintroduces the carbonation and even provides a bit of a carbonic bite from the excessive carbonation (nothing a few swirls of my glass can’t reduce though). Dusty cocoa notes combine with the up front sweetness and ultimately meld in with the amply toasted grain finish. I really like how complex the malt character is here, both the nose and the flavor have a deep toast character to it that really boosts the effect of this beer.

I admit to being a sucker for historical exercises such as this. I would love to hear a bit more about the malt and yeast selection, the latter would be especially critical for a reproduction. While there are times that I wish that this had a bit more fullness to it, the fact that it is so light makes this a very quaffable brew and it isn’t anything near watered down feeling.

Bottle no.342 of 2011 batch. Many thanks to Cuso for the trade. Pours totally black with an almost comically large off-white head. Aroma is roasted malt, chocolate with some caramel notes. Taste is also roasty with some light fruitiness and chocolate leading to a moderate bitter finish. Carbonation way over done. Enjoyable but a little disappointing from a brewery which is usually, from what I understand, top notch.

750ml, Dark pour, Deep roasty aroma, hints of chocolate, decent bitterness. Deep roasty flavor, black licorice. fuller mouthfeel. Solid Porter

75cl Bottle from De Bierkoning, bought not too long ago, so don’t see why this is retired.. Dark reddish brown to black colour, light beige head. Aroma of brown malts, hard roasted malts, chocolate. Flavour is medium sweet, malty, hard roasted malts, chocolate, pipe tobacco, malty bitter finish. Medium bodied, overcarbonated. Nice flavours though.

’09 bottle. Clear, dark red pour with a fizzy tan head. Aroma is faded, watery malt, caramel, and perhaps some cardboard. Taste is sweet malt with some light bitterness and really bland mishmash of I’m not sure. No roast or meaningful character. Fizzy, slightly biting mouthfeel which does not suit the style. I could have bought a better porter at trader joes for 1/10th of the price.

Une porter très avec un penchant sauvage presque sur. Pas très attrayante au plan des saveurs, trop mince.

Bottle. Pours dark brown with an tan head. Aroma of yeast, caramel, some fruitiness and spices. Flavor is sweet and fruity with some chocolate, caramel and roasted malt.Medium body, high carbonation.

Bottle @ home. Aroma is lot’s of roast, some liquorice and a touch of red fruit. Flavour is medium bitterness, big in roast, quite dry. High carbonation. Easy drinking for a full flavoured porter. Nice.

0.75 l Bottle 040 of 2008 batch - Roasted notes and cocoa on nose, red color, tan head. Palate was like a fine cup of coffee with the watery finish I associate with the style.

Draught. Congregation Ale House calls this, "Jack the Ripper". I guess this is the one. Light, muddy brown body under persistent, brownish thin head and netting of lacing. There are musty basement aromas and notes of salty, bitter licorice. Taste is sour, sweet, and salty. Palate and mouth is abrased by any lengthy contact with the beer. So lively that it hurts. Maybe that’s why it’s called, "Jack the Ripper" as 1914 is a bit late. Overall, an excellent beer.

0,75l, corked bottle, from brewery. Dark, almost black color with nice huge frothy beige head.Aroma of, coffee, chocolate. Taste, strongly in coffee,some chocolate notes, red fruit hints. Nice long lasting bitter finish. Excellent.